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Glossary

Glossary:

Glossary: humours

The fluids of the body whose balance is essential to well-being. They are blood, choler (yellow bile), phlegm, and melancholy (black bile). The system of the humours was closely related to the theory of the elements by the Ancient Greeks (especially Hippocrates), who were the first society to widely embrace the theory and apply it to medical practice. In Ancient Roman culture, the theory of the humours was embraced by Galen. During the neo-classical revival in western culture, the theory of the humours was a dominant form of medical practice. Its legacy in the form of activities such as blood-letting continued in England into the eighteenth century.

Glossary: drug jar

A (usually earthenware) container designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs.

Glossary: pharmacy

The preparation and medicinal dispensing of drugs.

Glossary: scurvy

Disease caused by a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which is contained in fresh fruit and vegetables. Symptoms include weakness, painful joints, and bleeding gums.

Glossary: lozenge

A small medicated sweet to be dissolved slowly in the mouth. Lozenges are intended to sooth and lubricate the throat.

Glossary: jaundice

The yellow appearance of both the skin and ‘whites’ of the eyes that occurs when too many red blood cells are being broken down.

Glossary: dropsy

An accumulation of fluid in the body tissues which results in swelling.